Mike W. Bryant
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Jan 30/02) - Reading is such an everyday part of a young student's life that it is often taken for granted, says the territorial body tasked to promote literacy in the NWT.

For this reason alone, the NWT Literacy Council joined the rest of the country in celebrating Jan. 27 as Family Literacy Day.

With only two years under its belt, the annual event has proved a huge success, says council community development facilitator Lisa Campbell.

"It's really hit a nerve as far as encouraging parents to encourage their children to read and write at home," says Campbell.

Schools across the territory took Family Literacy Day to heart last week by hosting lunch-time activities for parents and kids.

Last Friday, Yellowknifer visited N.J. Macpherson school to check out what reading material made the menu list over there.

"Winnie the Pooh is celebrating his 75th birthday today, so we thought we'd incorporate him as well," says assistant principal Yasemin Heyck.

In the main foyer outside the office was an enormous cake, brightly decorated with the famous bear and buddy Eeyore the donkey walking through 100 Acre Wood.

The author a child chooses to read is less important than the act of reading itself, says Heyck.

Harry Potter books and the Magic School Bus are just as important as other children's classics, like Dr. Seuss and Bernstein Bears.

What matters most is that they learn to enjoy reading, and the more time spent doing so, the better.

"Kids reading at home tend to be more successful at school," says Heyck. "They need to see that reading is important."

In the gymnasium, after eating some pizza for lunch, parents and their children began filtering in to get down to business.

Rob Marchiori was at the school with his son Anthony and daughter Kaitlyn.

Anthony, in Grade 2, was deeply engrossed with The Penguin that Wanted to be Different, by Maria O'Neill.

He says he has read six books so far, but dad thought he was being somewhat conservative.

"It's the key to learning, and the main building block to their education," says Marchiori. "We spend a lot of time reading to our kids every night."